A registered sex offender from Indiana has been sentenced to federal prison for inappropriately touching a 17-year-old girl while she slept on an airplane that was heading to Orlando.
On Monday, 65-year-old John Daniel Fowler was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for abusive sexual contact on an aircraft. He was also ordered to serve 15 years of supervised release following his release from prison.
Fowler was convicted by federal jurors in January 2026.
According to court records and testimony presented at trial, Fowler was seated next to the teen victim on a Spirit Airlines flight from Indianapolis to Orlando on July 29, 2025.
During that flight, Fowler watched the victim use her cellphone to take a photo through the window of the plane. Fowler then asked for the victim to “send him the photo,” and he provided his cellphone number to the victim.
Several times during the flight, Fowler “encroached on the (victim’s) space” by placing his hand over the armrest and touching her. The victim responded by pushing his hand away.
When the victim fell asleep during the flight, Fowler “placed his hand under (the victim’s) blanket” and inappropriately touched her. When the plane landed at Orlando International Airport, the victim woke up and realized that Fowler was “still groping her.”
The incident was immediately reported to the flight crew, who separated the victim from Fowler before contacting law enforcement.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Air Marshal Service, and the Orlando Police Department.
A criminal history search of Fowler revealed that he was previously convicted in Indiana for sexual battery and criminal confinement. The victim in that case, who was an adult at the time of the offense in 2017, testified at his trial to “establish a pattern of similar conduct by Fowler.”
Court records show that during the trial, the adult victim testified that she “fell asleep” and awoke to Fowler performing a sexual act on her without her consent.